Australian inquiry asks whether mom smothered her 4 children

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian inquiry began investigating on Monday whether a woman convicted almost two decades ago of smothering her four children to death might be innocent.

The inquiry by retired New South Wales state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Bathurst is the second judicial investigation into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions in 2003 and reflects advances in genetic science that add weight to her argument that her children died of natural causes.

The first inquiry by retired District Court Chief Justice Reginald Blanch concluded in 2019 that there was no reasonable doubt that Folbigg, now aged 55, murdered her children Sarah, Laura and Patrick and was guilty of the manslaughter of her firstborn, Caleb.

The start of the new inquiry in Sydney is focusing on a rare CALM2 genetic variant present in both daughters. Research into the variant published last year, after Blanch’s report, found that it might cause heart arrhythmias and sudden death in young children, lawyer assisting the inquiry Sophie Callan said at the outset of the hearing.

“The central question at all times has been whether Ms. Folbigg caused the death of one or more of her four children or whether they died of natural causes,” Callan said.

While 22 medical experts had testified at her trial in 2003, numerous experts across a range of medical and scientific fields have since provided reports that support Folbigg’s case.

“This caucus of medical and scientific evidence is weighty and dominates consideration of Ms. Folbigg’s convictions,” Callan said.

“However, it is not the only source of evidence relevant to the question of her guilty. Another significant category of evidence were diaries and journals she maintained when the children were alive,” Callan added.

A second phase of the...